hereof; for he thought, now perchance presently will the
kind maiden come hither to comfort me with a word or two. But hour
passed by hour, and still she came not; and still he lay there, and
thought of the Maid, and longed for her kindness and wisdom, till he
could not refrain his tears, and wept for the lack of her. Then he
arose, and went and sat in the porch, and was very downcast of mood.

But as he sat there, back comes the Lady again, the King's Son leading
her by the hand; they entered the porch, and she passed by him so close
that the odour of her raiment filled all the air about him, and the
sleekness of her side nigh touched him, so that he could not fail to note
that her garments were somewhat disarrayed, and that she kept her right
hand (for her left the King's Son held) to her bosom to hold the cloth
together there, whereas the rich raiment had been torn off from her right
shoulder. As they passed by him, the King's Son once more scowled on
him, wordless, but even more fiercely than before; and again the Lady
heeded him nought.

After they had gone on a while, he entered the hall, and found it empty
from end to end, and no sound in it save the tinkling of the fountain;
but there was victual set on the board. He ate and drank thereof to keep
life lusty within him, and then went out again to the wood-side to watch
and to long; and the time hung heavy on his hands because of the lack of
the fair Maiden.

He was of mind not to go into the house to his rest that night, but to
sleep under the boughs of the forest. But a little after sunset he saw a
bright-clad image moving amidst the carven images of the porch, and the
King's Son came forth and went straight to him, and said: "Thou art to
enter the house, and go into thy chamber forthwith, and by no means to go
forth of it betwixt sunset and sunrise. My Lady will not away with thy
prowling round the house in the night-tide."

Therewith he turned away, and went into the house again; and Walter
followed him soberly, remembering how the Maid had bidden him forbear. So
he went to his chamber, and slept.

But amidst of the night he awoke and deemed that he heard a voice not far
off, so he crept out of his bed and peered around, lest, perchance, the
Maid had come to speak with him; but his chamber was dusk and empty: then
he went to the window and looked out, and saw the moon shining bright and
white upon the greensward. And lo! the Lady walking with the K